Local government

Local municipalities bear tremendous responsibilities in the implementation of social and economic rights especially in the delivery of essential services to their communities. They are also responsible for articulating the needs of their communities to the provincial and national governments and initiate open participatory processes for communities to engage in decision making in programme identification and budgeting for service delivery on social and economic issues.

The councillors are made aware of their mandate within a human rights framework as provided for constitutionally and legislatively. Focus is placed on the human rights issues facing their communities such as proper infrastructure for access of clean water, food, health and safe environments for communities. The training provides a platform for local councillors and communities to voice their concerns and difficulties in implementation of these rights.

Constitution of South Africa

Amid a recent uptick in violence in the Central African Republic (CAR), United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday said he stood in solidarity with the crisis torn country and warned that attacks against defenseless civilians and UN ‘blue helmets’ may amount to war crimes.

United Nations Secretary-General António Gutteres condemned the killing of seven peacekeepers on Wednesday serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which is also confronting a lethal Ebola outbreak.

Africa’s crisis-torn Sahel region needs support from the international community “now more than ever,” the head of United Nations peacekeeping operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, told the Security Council on Thursday.

A range of international sanctions imposed against Eritrea nearly a decade ago, were unanimously lifted by the Security Council on Wednesday, four months after the signing of an historic peace agreement with Ethiopia in July.

Families in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are being supported by their government and the United Nations to protect the environment and build what the UN Development Programme calls “climate-resilient lives.”

With key national elections due next month in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), armed groups in the east of the country still threaten to derail the vote, the top United Nations official in the country told the Security Council on Tuesday.

To build a sustainable peace in Africa’s Sahel region, “urgent attention” is needed to mitigate the effects of climate change, and ensure that communities have access to sufficient opportunities, a joint meeting between the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the UN Peacebuilding Commission highlighted on Tuesday.

Outer space and disaster response experts, on Monday, gathered at a United Nations forum in Bonn, Germany, to discuss how “big data” including social media, crowdsourcing and satellite imaging, can reduce the risk of natural disasters in Africa and support response efforts when they strike.